Thoughts for today

I recently went to Kansas City for a visit. Those who do not know me, KC is where I lived for a lot of my life. I went to High School there and met my wife there so the significance of this city is very much in my heart. I was thrilled at the prospect of new things and people to visit. What I didn't realize is that I would have a new....well maybe new isn't the word, a renewed outlook on life. So many things are going on with my personal life that it does spill over into work life. There have been many things I have wanted to do with my photography. Last year I was going to do them. Honestly, I didn't accomplish everything, but did accomplish somethings. One thing is to clean up the website. It's not consistant. I need to be able to post photos online quickly. I've started to get a template that is easier and will change everything over to that photo template so it's easy to view photos quickly. Another thing I didn't do was to submit more of my work to contests, magazines and other publications. That is going to be one of my focuses for 2010. The other is doing more volunteering work. I was talking to a friend the other night. He is a student and often asks me questions about a lot of things that come up. I'm not sure if he would call me his mentor or not. It sort of feels like that to me. I like the idea of being a mentor. I like the idea of helping others. But that is not what this post is all about. Something I've been thinking about for quite some time is to offer portrait sessions for those who couldn't pay for it. There is an organization that does this but only for the Christmas season. I wanted to offer it at least twice a year. I would look at organizations that help people in need, then offer an open day to those organizations for portrait sessions. Making at LEAST a 5 X 7 print free to them at a later date. I was doing research online and most people that participate or more than happy to do this. Some have never had a photo taken of them let alone have a print for free. I am thinking about doing this in the spring. Please give me some feedback on what you all think about this.

Oh, I almost forgot the other thing this post was about!! When I was gone for the weekend I had a lot of time to think. One of those things is making sure I stay true to myself. I thought about what means the most to me. And it didn't change at all. If anything it was a reaffirmation of my beliefs and values. Personally nothing has changed. God, family, friends, photography are the most important thing and everything else falls behind. But in those 4 things, life can change on a dime. You never know what can happen. One minute things are good ( or bad) then the next they can just change. Yes, like that.....JUST change. Major challenges have already reared their ugly head at me this year. And for some reason I'm not overly depressed or overly sad. I am very sad that these things are happening, but for the most part it has put a focus and determination on me that I have never felt before. As I look into the mirror of determination and focus I can't help but think about how this affects my photography. The focus is changing and I like it. More to come later!

Gods speed!

Douglass